Over the past few years, there has been a lot of chatter online about whether or not our smartphones are listening to us for the purpose of serving up targeted ads. The paranoia is understandable: it seems as if our phones are able to predict our every whim, knowing exactly what products or services we need before we even realize we want them. But is it really as sinister as all that? Are our phones really listening to our conversations to serve up ads, or is it just coincidence?

Let’s start with the basics. In order for your phone to pick up on your conversations and use them to serve up ads, it would need to be actively listening to you at all times. In other words, your phone’s microphone would need to be constantly on, ready to pick up every word you say. This is a pretty big ask, especially when you consider that doing so would require significant processing power and battery life. That said, it’s not impossible: some apps, such as voice assistants like Siri and Alexa, do listen to you at all times in order to respond more quickly to your requests.

But just because your phone is capable of listening to you doesn’t mean it’s doing so for the purpose of serving up ads. In fact, as things stand, there’s very little evidence to suggest that this is actually happening. While some people have claimed to have witnessed their conversations being used to serve up ads, the reality is often far less sinister. Internet ads are targeted based on a range of factors, including your search history, browsing habits, and location. In other words, if you suddenly start seeing a lot of ads for dog food, it’s more likely because you’ve been looking up information about dog breeds or visiting pet store websites recently than because your phone is listening to you talk about your new puppy.

Of course, it’s not impossible that your conversations could be used to serve up ads in the future. As technology becomes more sophisticated, it’s entirely possible that advertisers could find ways of picking up on your conversations and using them to serve up targeted ads. However, this would likely be a highly controversial move, and it’s unlikely that it would be implemented without significant pushback from both consumers and privacy advocates.